Tiger by the Tail
by FairladyZ2005
Summary: Post series. Alchun adjusts to being the new prime minister. Based on a Korean folktale from the Samguk Yusa (Tales and Legends of the Three Kingdoms).


Disclaimer: The Great Queen Seondeok is owned by MBC, not me. Please don't sue. But the real history belongs to us all.

Historical Note: Normally I do this after a story, but this one requires a small explanation. This story is based on a folktale about Alchun from the _Samguk Yusa (Tales and Legends of the Three Kingdoms)_ and originally is set in the reign of Queen Jindok/Princess Seungman, Seondeok's successor. However because the series never mentions her (except for a deleted scene from the very last episode which is odd considering how this is a show filled with strong females), I've decided to use Chunchu instead since I didn't want to go through the trouble of creating an OC Jindok. Here I will say that Chunchu was Seondeok's successor instead. Though I left references to "the great queen" after the scene break without naming her just in case anyone wants a choice of imagining one queen over the other.

Thanks to Lunatique as usual for being my beta, Korean language translations, and for making me aware of this wonderful folktale in the first place. I hope you like your unique wedding present.

* * *

Tiger by the Tail

If anyone had told Kim Alchun years ago that he would one day be prime minister of Silla, he would have laughed. He'd been a military man all his life. A Hwarang. Captain of the queen's royal guard. When he'd led, it had been in battle. He hated politics and had tried to avoid it for most of his young life. But as his eyes had been opened, he'd learned that to obey without question was not always the honorable course of action. And he was nothing if he lost his honor. Yet he had found a dream and a leader worthy of serving. He could no more refuse the great queen's last bequest of him than the earth could refuse a command of the sky.

Now he faced a new kind of battlefield. Could honor exist in politics? Was it possible to apply the principles of the Hwarang to the Council of Nobles? Perhaps it was folly, but it would be an even greater folly not to try. Trust the people. Rule with hope. With the death of the great queen and the recent rebellion led by the last prime minister, Alchun's task loomed large ahead. It was going to take more than just hope to hold the nation together with the current vacuum of power. Silla needed a strong ruler.

* * *

With the holy bone line no more, only the true bone line remained. It was a potential recipe for chaos, but there was one candidate worthy of the throne in Alchun's opinion. So he waited to be received by the person in question. It wasn't long before a servant led him in.

"What can I do for you, Prime Minister?" the cheerful voice of Prince Chunchu rang out as he sipped his tea garbed in the white finery of the royal house in mourning for its queen.

The prime minister bowed low and respectful. "Actually, it is about what I can do for you, my prince."

Chunchu motioned for Alchun to take a seat. Alchun made a motion of polite refusal and indicated he preferred to stand.

"Direct and to the point as always. Very well."

No sooner had Chunchu given the go ahead than the prime minister dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and gave his vow.

"I, Seo Alchun, pledge my allegiance to my new king and his descendants until my dying day."

Alchun waited for a response that came in the form of a pleasant chuckle. While he did not dare look, he could picture the warm smile on the prince's face.

"Grand words. And to think there are those who consider you my political rival. Of course," he said with a tilt of the head, "pledges can always be broken as well."

Alchun's eyes went wide. "My prince, I -"

"I gladly accept your pledge." Chunchu reassured him, still smiling. "Already you distance yourself from your predecessor. And Misil's followers aren't yours. You support their execution. We both thought it should have a long time ago, after the coup. You also tried to save my mother. I trust you as much as someone in my position can trust anyone. I do have one question," the prince looked at Alchun with curiosity, "Seo?"

"The name Kim should only be for the royal house. This is part of my pledge that all would know I have no equal claim to the throne, but choose to serve you as the heir. From this day fourth, let it be reflected by this new clan name that my family will remain loyally subordinate to yours."

"I am honored to have your support and that you go this far in your display of it. Thank you. And I am told those are words a king does not give out lightly."

Alchun looked up then to see the gratitude on the prince's face as he motioned the prime minister to rise and sit once again. Alchun rose, but remained standing.

"With respect, it is not just you I serve, but the lifedebt I have to the crown."

"So I've inherited you? Passed down from my mother, to my aunt, to me? Is that it?" Chunchu raised an eyebrow. Alchun finally gave a small smile.

"In a manner of speaking. My life is at your command. And if you ever feel I have been disloyal to you, you have only to complete what I started with your mother's nanjang."

"And why would I ever do that to my favorite tutor?" Chunchu watched as Alchun blinked in confusion, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "What? You didn't know?" Chunchu asked with an innocent expression that belied his age. But Alchun's confused expression was enough to confirm the prime minister's shock.

"I had thought Bidam -"

"Terrified me. And Yusin was so boring with his exercises. But you were fun."

"Fun?"

"Because you were always the easiest to rile."

"I'm…glad one of us was amused."

The prince fought to control his amusement at Alchun's serious countenance. It seemed after all these years he could still get under the prime minister's skin with his offbeat sense of humor. Even his initial response to Alchun's pledge was no different. Chunchu liked keeping the people around him a little off guard, something the straightforward Hwarang had always found annoying but rarely chastised due to his respect for authority.

A servant came back in then, with a fresh pot of tea. Finally, Alchun accepted the prince's invitation to sit and share in the refreshments.

"The truth is," Chunchu said, "when I bothered to pay attention, I admired your dedication. Even when you were at your wits end, you kept your composure. Nor were you willing to let my antics go uncorrected, demanding I respect history, always pushing me to do my best, even though I didn't respond. You've exactly the right kind of temperament to head the Council of Nobles, I'd say."

"You give me too much credit sire."

"Nonsense, tutoring is the dry art of teaching history, politics is the dry art of making history. Is one so different than the other?"

Alchun set his tea down as he finished his cup, pondering how best to state his opinion. "One is full of facts. The other is full of lies. History serves the truth of the ages. But politicians twist the truth to serve themselves. I fail to see how they can be reconciled. They are like night and day."

"And yet somehow from politics, a new history emerges. A chapter we will write together. You are a rare breed Alchun, an honest man in politics. But that is also why you were chosen. You will keep the rest of us in line. It's a thankless but essential job but I know you are up to the task."

"Thank you, sire." Alchun took a moment to refill his cup of tea from the pot and offered to refill the prince's cup as well. The prince drank deep, savoring the beverage. Alchun tried to appreciate his as well but spent more time staring into his cup.

"You're not much of a gambling man are you?"

"Not particularly." While Alchun would certainly engage with his friends in a game if asked, he was not one to regularly spend his free time in such an establishment.

"That is why politics looks like a game to you, when it is much like a battlefield instead."

"I have heard the analogy and have tried to take it to heart, but I fail to see how one skilled in swordplay can adapt to wordplay. I have neither the queen's nor your skill of cunning or even Yusin flair for inspirational speeches. A rising phoenix is known for reading its opponents and launching an effective counterattack. But how can I when the very rules of engagement are like a foreign language on foreign soil?"

"While I am willing to tutor you, old teacher, in the finer points, is not the rising phoenix also known for its adaptability? Perhaps you simply need to pick a different weapon for your wordplay. Not all in the council chambers can wield a sword of finesse. Also, a phoenix doesn't tell lies. Your words are like a cudgel of truth. They're blunt and they aren't always pretty but when they strike, it's with force and conviction. The whole room can't help but listen."

Alchun took a quiet moment to ponder the princes words. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended by that."

"A politician would be both, but he would only acknowledge the former."

"Then I thank you for the compliment." Alchun bowed his head.

"It is one," the prince confirmed, not letting any ambiguity stand in his respect for his new prime minister. "Your loyalty, like Yusin's, to support my claim to the throne means a lot. Even so, this will not be an easy vote for the council. But I know we'll make a good team."

"In which case, you will soon have a new name as well. Have you chosen one?"

The prince was silent, as if hesitant to share his secret. Then he grinned, motioned Alchun closer and whispered over the table. "How do you like the sound of…Muyeol?"

Alchun answered with both truth and the dignified approval of a true politician.

* * *

Alchun had always considered himself a man of tradition. At the moment though, he wanted to tell the last seven-hundred years of tradition to go screw itself. He was used to long hours on guard duty spent outside the council chambers. But after five hours of squabbling nobles still no closer to a consensus supporting the next ruler (and after spending that first hour explaining why he and Yusin weren't viable candidates) Alchun was inwardly cursing everyone who had voted down the motion of majority rule all those years ago. Alchun had come to the conclusion that heading the council was not unlike trying to discipline a room full of Hwarang trainees who'd been left unsupervised in the barracks for too long. Only here it was harder to pull rank and no one could be assigned to kitchen patrol duty for talking out of turn.

But he had the floor and he was determined not to yield it until he'd convinced them all that supporting Prince Chunchu was in their best interests. Truth be told, he felt he might finally be making progress with those on the fence. But there were a couple of stubborn councilmen who refused to budge. One of them was a "supporter" and would not take the hint by still calling him **Kim **Alchun, a form of defiance in itself. As if "forgetting" the new name change all too often would make Alchun reconsider his "claim" to the throne. He seemed to take Alchun's refusal as a personal insult.

The other stubborn councilman just couldn't seem to make up his mind, determined to hear out and consider every possible candidate brought up no matter how small their claim only to lament for the umpteenth time the end of the holy bone line and how the great queen had failed to produce an heir. This only prompted Alchun to argue yet again that the late queen's nephew was her chosen heir. (Thank goodness Yusin's supporters now rallied around Chunchu whose second wife and Yusin's youngest sister had borne a son who could finally fulfill their dream of one day seeing someone of Gaya blood on the throne.)

About the only thing Alchun could be grateful for was the weather. Due to it being the wintertime, the Council of Nobles met in their southern location on Mt. Kaeji . The climate wasn't too cold and the tent preserved most of the warmer air except for when a chilly wind gusted through.

It was on such a wind that a dart flew between the rattling flaps of the tent and imbedded itself in the green-tasseled seal Alchun had been gesturing with in hopes of emphasizing his point. He instinctively noted the trajectory of the dart (possibly poisoned) and determined the most probable target - the prince. Alchun repositioned himself without thinking, out of reflex born from years of guarding the great queen. If there was a second dart, it would be intercepted by his own body and not reach Chunchu.

At the same time, his eyes darted to Yusin and he gave a slight jerk of his head to indicate the direction of the attack. Yusin nodded in full understanding, the years they worked together to protect the great queen coming to the front in nonverbal signals. It was second nature to them by now. Yusin motioned to the nearest guards with a hand signal spelling out tiger (the code for "assassin") sending them out to investigate and catch them.

All of this took place in the span of the few seconds it took for the rest of the nobles to register what had happened with collective gasps and a din of questions. But the prime minister's voice rose above them all.

"Is this what Silla has come to?" Alchun demanded as he waved his seal with the dart for all to see. "Not only are there those who seek to divide us for personal gain, but they are cowardly enough to resort to this! Was one rebellion not enough? Will you tolerate this? I for one will not stand for any -"

The warning shouts of a guard came from outside as a man in black burst through the tent flaps followed by pursuing Hwarang. The assassin's eyes fixed fanatically on Chunchu. From his own suicidal conviction from years past, Alchun recognized the determination in the man's gaze. With knife in hand, the assassin made a fatal run at the prince. But the prime minister was in the way. The assassin hurled himself like an arrow at his target with a desperate leap. Alchun sidestepped and grabbed the assassin by the tail of his waist sash. The unbalanced assassin was sent crashing to the ground with a throwing move. The force with which the assassin hit the ground head first made a loud crack. But a groan from the man let Alchun know he wasn't dead.

"_Ajik nae mari geutnaji anatneuni!_ I wasn't done talking!"" Alchun said with a cold expression as the assassin tried to look up at him blinking blearily. Hate was replaced by fear in the killer's eyes as he tried to process what kind of man treats an assassination attempt like a rude breech of etiquette before fading into unconsciousness.

The prime minister then cast a glance at Chunchu making sure he was all right. The prince gave a shaken but healthy nod. Alchun noted the prince had unsheathed the only weapon he had handy, just in case Alchun had failed, a tiny heirloom knife, perfect for confronting "tigers."

Two of the Hwarang guards collected the assassin and dragged him away, while a third reported to Yusin that the area was now secure. The assassin had been alone. Alchun's attention then fell on the nobles, most of who still looked on in shock, some half ready to flee. Even Yusin's eyes were wide and impressed by Alchun's quick action, his distance too many steps away to have stopped the assassin himself.

At this, Alchun couldn't help but laugh as he said, _"Ireoni sangdaedeungui maleul makeumyeon an doeneun geoshio._ **That** is why you don't interrupt the prime minister." And before any could respond, Alchun raised his green-tasseled seal of approval high and cast it into the circle in the middle of the table. _"Hwabaekhoeuineun jiguem tupyoreul hadorok hashio!_ I call upon the Council of Nobles to cast their vote right now!"

It took a few moments for some of the nobles to gather their wits after what they had just witnessed. But starting with Yusin, wooden seals of approval began to drop one by one until all were finished – in unanimous support for Kim Chunchu as the next king of Silla. None could argue with Alchun after he had made his point so clearly. He had proved that actions spoke louder than words when it came to politics.

There were no more assassination attempts before the coronation. As for the assassin at the council meeting, none beyond those who were there knew the full truth of what actually happened. True to his wily self, when Chunchu was asked by his wives about the council meeting he replied, "It was all quite dull until a terrible tiger appeared out of nowhere."

"A tiger?" Boryang gasped.

"Yes, a most vicious one."

"What happened?" Munhui insisted.

"Well, it was so ferocious we might all have been dead if not for the bravery of the prime minister. I'm sure I've told you about how my great-great-grandfather, King Jinhung, once slew a tiger by slamming a knife down its throat. Prime Minister Alchun, however, prefers to dispose of them from the opposite end and catch his tigers by the tail."

"You honor me, sire," Alchun gave a humble bow as the two exchanged a knowing smile.

Alchun would continue to slay many more "tigers" in service to Silla over the years. And no one interrupted the prime minister from that day forward. Perhaps politics wasn't as boring as he thought it would be after all.

* * *

Notes: This show has made me a hopeless Lee Seung-Hyo fan. But even more so, I find myself admiring the historical Alchun the more I find out about him – badass PM, does everything right that Bidam did wrong by supporting the royal family, humbly refusing to take the throne himself (in a way that oddly reminds me a George Washington when he refused to be a king) and keeping the country together through a potential crisis of succession. And in changing his name he essentially founded a whole clan that people with the last name Seo or So can trace their lineage back to him more or less. This folktale really sparked my imagination to the point I had to do a Lee Seung-Hyo version of it. It's hard to say if the tiger in the original folktale was supposed to be a real animal or code for an assassin as it's only a couple paragraphs long. I just chose the one that fit better for my version.

Fun historical facts: Alchun was also a lot older that the TV show portrays him. There are two origins for his family according the _Samguk Sagi._ In the version where he is related to the royal family he is both Yusin and Deokman's great uncle. Also Field Marshall Munno was Alchun's father-in-law.

I also find my timing on this story to be rather uncanny with the recent American election. Anyway, I hope for any of my fellow Americans reading this, no matter their political leanings, took advantage of their very precious right to vote. Every one really does count and can make a difference.


End file.
